Red Bank HS student named best high school journalist in Tennessee
3/7/2011
Red Bank High boasts state's best high school journalist
Chattanooga, TN -- Patrick MacCoon, a senior at Red Bank High School, won the H.L. Hall Outstanding Student Journalist Award and was recognized as Tennessee's "Student Journalist of the Year" at the Tennessee High School Press Association Awards at Lipscomb University in Nashville Monday. By taking this honor, Patrick is Tennessee's nominee for the national journalist of the year and a scholarship, which will be given at the national convention in Anaheim, Calif., in April.
“We are so proud of our students and all they have accomplished,” said Red Bank Principal Gail Chuy. “We have very talented students and this award just shows what we have known all along: Red Bank students are doing amazing things.”
Patrick MacCoon took first and second place in best sports story and first and second place in best column. He will be attending the School of Journalism at the University of Tennessee this fall.
“We’ve been in touch with the Daily Beacon, UT’s newspaper, about the possibility of Patrick writing for them beginning as early as summer,” said Journalism teacher Gregory Cantrell. “Patrick could possibly be covering the Vols as a freshman, which is unheard of!”
In addition to Patrick’s honors, Ashton Banta won first place for best editorial while WRBH-TV and Mr. Wagner's "Mane News" program was named second in state. Zach Rogers and Cullen Harris won third place in the state for a program they submitted.
Overall, The Blue and White, Red Bank’s newspaper, won first place in the state for best news website and was named "All-Tennessee," the highest honor available.
The Blue and White is Chattanooga and Hamilton County's longest continuously-published high school newspaper, dating back to 1942. Red Bank High School was one of only a handful of Tennessee public schools that entered the competition and the only one from Chattanooga (public or private).
The Hamilton County Department of Education is a diverse school system, providing roughly 42,000 students with a world class education. The system is nationally renowned for urban school success as well as middle school and high school reform. The district offers a variety of educational programs for all students including magnet schools, career academies and gender-based classes as well as a focus on individual student success and the goal of preparing all students to compete in the Global Economy.